Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett has pledged to demolish and rehabilitate 2,000 homes over the next two years. The city plans to tackle Hogsett's goal with a mix of federal and city money.
James Briggs / IndyStar

Buy Photo

Mayor Joe Hogsett speaks at the Black Expo Ecumenical Service at Light of the World Christian Church on Thursday, July 6, 2017.(Photo: Sarah Stier/IndyStar)Buy Photo

Republican Minority Leader Michael McQuillen introduced an amendment that would have defunded the Sheriff's Office next year. The proposal came after several weeks of Republican questions about Sheriff John Layton's plan to cease providing several services next year.

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department is set to pick up those services, which include providing security at hospital rooms where people under arrest are being treated, transporting people under arrest to jail and administering the intake process at county jails.

Republicans, including McQuillen, have criticized Hogsett's budget as irresponsible because it does not account for those changes and shift money away from the Sheriff's Office.

Earlier Monday, the Hogsett administration and Layton announced an agreement to conduct a third-party audit of the Sheriff's Office. But the pending audit did not assuage concerns that the department is overfunded.

"I believe it's both premature and financially irresponsible to approve the sheriff's department in its current form," McQuillen said.

McQuillen said he introduced his amendment to give the council more time before voting on spending for the Sheriff's Office. But, after hearing concerns from council staff members, who advised against defunding the department, McQuillen withdrew his amendment and voted for Hogsett's budget.

Republicans John Wesseler and Scott Kreider, a consistent critic of Sheriff's Office funding, were the only council members who voted against Hogsett's budget.

The Hogsett administration is planning to introduce a funding transfer from the Sheriff's Office to IMPD next year, a move that Kreider has said lacks transparency.

"I have concerns about trying to do this mid-course correction next year for public safety," Kreider said following his vote.

"Our city is a better place tonight thanks to 21 councilors who, when given the choice, cast their votes for Indianapolis taxpayers rather than partisanship and politics," Hogsett said.

Hogsett's budget allocates $275.9 million for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, an increase of more than 5 percent. That includes money to hire 86 new police officers, on top of 85 officers that are expected to be hired this year. Hogsett is projecting a two-year net gain of 66 officers by the end of 2018.

The budget also adds money for infrastructure projects, including $120 million for street, sidewalk, and stormwater work. The Department of Public Works' budget will rise 13 percent to $151.8 million next year.

Overall, Hogsett's 2018 budget includes 3.7 percent more spending than his first budget. The city is projecting a 6 percent increase in revenue.

The Hogsett administration also expects a $211,061 surplus in 2018, which the mayor says marks the first time in a decade that the city will have enough long-term, sustainable revenue to exceed expenses.

Council members expressed skepticism over some of the administration's projections and funding levels for departments. Republican Jeff Miller, who has said Hogsett oversold the deficit reduction in his first two budgets, expressed lingering discomfort with the 2018 budget.

"I think we could have presented this budget in an entirely different way and we'd be having a different conversation," Miller said. "Instead, at least for me, this was a painful couple months."

Yet, Miller also praised Hogsett for delivering to the council long-term spending plans for public safety and infrastructure that go well beyond 2018.

Council President Maggie Lewis, a Democrat, said in a statement that the budget will "create a better city and prepare us for the future."

"This budget belongs to our taxpayers and we will all benefit from the special attention given to public safety," she said.

Call IndyStar reporter James Briggs at (317) 444-6307. Follow him on Twitter: @JamesEBriggs.